Ambode’s quest for foreign direct investment laudable

The quest for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode is part of the larger plan to make the Lagos megacity a functional one. Lagos State, with a projected population of over 21million people, is a destination of choice to majority of Nigerians.

It is seen as a state of unlimited opportunities and as such movement of young adults to the state in search of greener pastures is a daily occurrence. The collapse of the economy, especially the closure of manufacturing industries over time due largely to the absence of power and unfavourable investment climate, has had adverse effects on the security of lives and property of the people.

The first responsibility of the government, as we all know, is to ensure the security of its people and their welfare. The most paramount need of man is food and nothing is too much a sacrifice to put food on the table of the people. After that, secondary issues that are likely to arise from the decision taken or being contemplated can be addressed.

The reception which Governor Ambode accorded the Walmart delegation and a promise to create enabling environment for their business was borne out of the zeal to seek job opportunities for our young men and women, literates and illiterates. There is no gainsaying that our youth have become vulnerable to being lured into various types of anti-social activities hitherto alien to our culture.

From high-degree human and drug trafficking, prostitution both at home and abroad, kidnapping, armed robbery, cyber fraud and drug addiction to mention but a few, our country has become a fertile recruitment ground for terrorist organisations. As the popular saying goes, “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop”. This is a frontline problem that must be tackled headlong and a multifarious approach must be employed to achieve desired result.

I hold this position against the background of the piece titled “As Ambode lusts after Wal-Mart” authored by Abimbola Adelakun and published in the Punch of Thursday August 13, 2015. The writer, to my mind, sought to advise the governor to “err on the side of caution”.

Yes, good advice, we need to be circumspect and weigh all options properly so that we don’t further impoverish the people we sought to lift from poverty. However, some of the assertions or reasons adduced to buttress the seeming disadvantages are not the same with the conditions in the United States used as the country of comparison.

To begin with, the Venezuelan Ambassador to Nigeria, Enrique FernandoArundell, might have told the late Mrs. Dora Akinyuli the home truth by saying that we should look inward and build our country rather than wait for others to do it for us. Statement of fact, but a Yoruba adage says “you can’t in face of starvation continue to say you won’t eat from the pot of your enemy when your friends have no food to offer you”.

True, we have many stupendously rich Nigerians who stack their billions in foreign accounts or prefer to invest outside Nigeria for God knows why. But can we reasonably close our eyes to foreigners who have resources to invest in the country to create the much needed job opportunities and grow the economy just because some of our people refuse to invest in her? I don’t think so.

Walmart may be a retail outfit like Shoprite but its investment in Nigeria can only be a blessing to the nation and the particular location at this crucial time. There are not many retail outlets in the format of these giants in Nigeria that may go under in the face of competition. Our trading activities still largely take place in the various local markets where the traders ply their trade in one or two commodities. The patronage of supermarkets as we know them is largely by the elites and the middle class that form a minute sector of the population. The larger majority still prefer the local haggling system.

The population of Lagos State stands it in good stead to host the world-renowned retail outlet as its population is well stratified such that all contending forces will consistently find their share of the market without posing threat to others. After all, with all the boutiques in the state, big and small, the Okrika (fairly used clothes) vendors still smile to the banks; the Gutter Ariyofabric market still booms despite the fact that large a group of the elite wear English dresses during the week.

Those of us who know what StrabagYard, the place where Ikeja Mall is located today used to be will not agree that Walmart will be a disservice to Lagos. The Ikeja Mall is of world standard, the jobs created in the course of construction and those in the employment of the various organisations operating therein and the multiplier effect on the economy cannot be overemphasised. To have the likes of Walmart to compete with Shoprite can only make it more efficient and people- friendly.

Of major interest is the fact that Walmart is just one of the many investors being wooed. Manufacturing industries that will return Lagos to the position of industrial hub of the nation, employ large number of people, boost creation and development of many Small and Medium Scale industries are the prime targets and will berth in good time to reverse the trend of our unemployment and the attendant negative consequences.